NEW YEAR, NEW LIFE!

Well, here we are, well into the new year and reasonably settled. We are in a rented house which is very comfortable and suitable but really looking forward to finding our own where we can put down our roots as we do feel rather in Limbo Land! The real estate market here has been very slow through the summer but we are assured that more houses will be on the market as Autumn approaches. We hope 'they' are right! We have unpacked just enough with which to get by and it makes me realise that I will be making many more trips to the op shops when we do unpack! Mostly I don't miss anything still in boxes, in fact I'm almost embarrassed by the surfeit we have stored away. Then when I think of how much we gave away or sold before we moved...!

I think of how lucky we were to spend 13 1/2 years at Winterfold, it was a wonderful time for us and for our family. However we are not regretting our move at all. There are some things I do miss...the peace and quiet, serenity of the garden. My pantry! My studio, the new dishwasher we bought just before we decided to sell! E has no regrets at all, he had said goodbye to the farm every time he went out during those last months and now loves retirement...he will always be busy but will be doing things he wants to, not what he has to. 

Early in January I went to Perth to meet our new granddaughter, a sweet little poppet, her big sister and her one of her two brothers. It was a precious time for us all. No photo of my lovely eldest grandchild so just a peep of the girls for you...

Notice the finished blanket in the background!

Such a proud big sister!

And now we must be patient, waiting for this house we need/want to appear with all our requirements! I do find I'm not very motivated to be creative and these oranges inspired me to have a fiddle with my pen and paints...

I perched at the kitchen bench to do this, not the best spot but OK. However I was pleased with the result after such a long break. I have been sketching a bit....and reading, reading, reading. I do feel rather lazy but it is my way of regeneration I think...restoring, reenergising, and regrouping! Whilst in Perth I was introduced to the kindle app for my ipad, a wonderful tool when you don't have a library on hand! I still prefer a real book but one advantage for me has been I can read in the 'dark', not turning the light on and disturbing E during my many wakeful nights here. I have been going off to sleep beautifully but waking after a couple of lovely hours sleep and then being awake for hours and hours, or so it seems. I think my brain just has forgotten how to sleep!

This is rather a mishmash, a catchup of sorts as I felt I just HAD to post. Maybe now I'll be able to write a regular post, now that I've broken the ice!